Tag: comic books

If you’re like me, and the only place better than a library, or bookstore is a movie theater, then you would completely lose control of social etiquette and squeal like an owl in heat if one of your favorite characters decided to serve you popcorn. Well, that’s exactly what happened to the citizens of Jersey Saturday night when Brie Larson surprised her fans at the AMC Clifton Commons 16 in Clifton. A committee of squealing owls was lucky enough to have their opening weekend Captain Marvel experience enhanced by the woman in red, yellow and blue herself. Not only did Ms. Larson make an appearance, but she full on embraced the role of moviegoer and then employee?

Insiderspoke with Susana Moimenta, a woman who took her little cousins to the event:

“It was completely surreal to see her at the concession stand. We weren’t expecting it at all,” Moimenta told Insider over Instagram. “We heard another moviegoer say Brie Larson is here and thought they were joking.” “I am so so grateful that we got to meet her. My little cousins are HUGE Marvel fans and to have them actually meet one of their heroes in incredible. Brie Larson did a tremendous job,” Moimenta added of getting a chance to see Larson. “[I’m] so overjoyed that my family gets to grow up with role models and representation of strong women on screen.”

The endearing thing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the community of celebrities, creatives and fans it has accumulated. I went to a screening Saturday myself and thoroughly enjoyed the movie- one because Marvel has perfected a winning formula, two, a character has finally gone super saiyan in mainstream cinema and three, because of simple things that outlined the night. More than the plot or overall message of the film, I’ll remember the young girl three rows back and her loud “oooohhhhhhh shoot” reaction to a line in the movie spoken by the character Maria- “I’m going to put my foot…” It was the only reaction in a theater full of people to that line, and everyone heard it. What followed was an outburst of laughter all around me, not at the movie but at the young girl’s amusement with a certain character’s gumption. When the credits began to roll, I, with a handful of other people, took a well-deserved bathroom break before returning to a still full theater. The mid-credit and end credit scenes have had that big an impact on the movie-going experience.

Image Via Giphy.com

I don’t think anyone thought that Iron Man in 2008 would be the beginning of an entire cinematic universe that would have such an effect on so many people. Multiple movies helping further the battle against issues like representation and totalitarianism while maintaining the simplistic appeal of valour and heartfelt dedication to one’s moral compass. Brie Larson is clearly embracing the love and excitement that surround these type of films while gracefully settling into her new position of superhero. If Saturday was any indication, one of the most important things Brie Larson and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has taught us is to do two things in life—-be nice, humble and have fun.

Captain Marvel had a record-breaking weekend, making $455 million at the global box office. The sixth highest grossing movie of all time (internationally).

P.S. That opening Stan Lee montage and subsequent cameo were charming and well done.

Image Via Yahoo.com

R.I.P. Master Lee. You showed the world that there’s a hero in all of us.

Today is International Women’s Day, and I think its fairly appropriate to give some props to some of the most inspiring women from comic books. These are women who—with or without superpowers—inspire young girls (and those of us who are still young at heart). Real heroes are those who are willing to sacrifice everything for the betterment of others, those who are strong, and brave, and have heart and hope through the darkest of times. These are just a few of the endless inspiring women who encompass these ideals of heroism… and a few of their most iconic, empowering quotes!

Image Via Amazon

1. Captain Marvel

“This isn’t a question of what I’m not. This is a question of who I could be.”

Image Via Fanpop

2. Wonder Woman

“I will fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.”

IMAGE VIA CDN1.THR.COM

3. Agent Peggy Carter

“Even if everyone is telling you that something wrong is something right. Even if the whole world is telling you to move, it is your duty to plant yourself like a tree, look them in the eye, and say: ‘No, you move’.”

IMAGE VIA YTIMG.COM

4. Super Girl

“No hero can save everyone, not even Superman. But a real hero never stops trying.”

Image Via Pure Fandom

5. Black Widow

“Don’t think I’m helpless just because I’m soft and cuddly!”

Image Via WallpaperscART

6. Mera

“I don’t bow to any king.”

iMAGE vIA wORLD of bLACK hEROES

7. Storm

“You counter despair with hope. You strive forever for the best you are capable to be! Therein lies the victory!”

iMAgE vIA amAZON

8. Batwoman

“Sitting at that desk, staring out that window, watching the city that we grew up in rot at its core. You find a way to not break.”

iMAGE viA fORBES

9. Jessica Jones

“I can control myself, which means I’m more powerful than you ever were.”

iMAGE viA iGNIMGS.COM

10. Bat Girl

“I’m strong enough and smart enough for anything you throw at me.”

iMAGE vIA tiME doT coM

11. Gwen Stacy

“There will be dark days ahead of us too and there will be days when you feel alone and that’s when hope is needed most. Keep it alive.”

iMAGE viA sYFY

12. Harley Quinn

“You think I’m just a doll. A doll that’s pink and light. A doll you can arrange any way you like. You’re wrong. Very wrong.”

iMAGE viA vOX

13. Shuri

“Just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved.”

iMAGE viA sYFY

14. Vixen

“I have all the powers of Africa now. From the fox to the Elephant… I am the life of Africa, and I believe in life.”

iMAGE viA shOPIFY

15. Jean Grey

“We come into this world alone and we leave the same way. The time we spent in between is all that makes life worth living.”

iMAGE viA mEG cABOT

16. Black Canary

“To fight the unthinkable, you have to be willing to do the unthinkable.”

iMAGE viA vIGNETTE wiKIA

17. Mystique

“But they wanted more. They wanted it all. And I gave it to them.”

iMAGE viA i.Pinimg.com

18. Bumblebee

“I call the shots! Got it?!”

ImaGE VIA COMICBOOK.COM

19. Gamora

“I have spent most of my life surrounded by my enemies. I will be grateful to die among my friends.”

iMAGE viA syFY

20. Starfire

“On Tamaran we appreciate the past. We respect it. But we don’t live there. We live here. Now. In the moment.”

Honorable Mentions include Okoye, Zatanna, Scarlet Witch, Poison Ivy, Sharon Carter, and Valkyrie. In truth, there are too many heroes to count!

Movie trailers are a weird entity; they’re basically mini-movies that attempt to summarize (but not spoil) an even bigger movie. Unlike the blurb of a book, which is generally brief, and completely spoiler-free, sometimes trailers give away A LOT.

In an age where information runs rampant online, trailers really should only exist for movies that really need marketing. Example: Game of Thrones has yet to show any trailer-like footage from season 8. Why? HBO doesn’t need to, we’re all going to watch it anyway. No need to risk showing too much. This is one of the reasons the newest trailer for the upcoming X-Men movie Dark Phoenix has totally bummed me out.

Spoiler Alert…but is it a spoiler if it happens in the trailer?

Image Via Nerdist.com

The Dark Phoenix story arch is a very well known storyline in the X-Men comics, one where everyone’s favorite redhead gives loses control of her telepathic powers and hulks out on Professor Xavier and friends (see what I did there? “Hulks,” it makes sense because it’s all Marvel universe). It’s all very tragic and messy; this was roughly portrayed in the abomination that was the 2006 film X Men: The Last Stand. Apparently, in the newest adaptation of this classic comic book plot, Jean Grey (Sophie Turner of Game of Thrones fame) is going kill everyone’s favorite shape-shifting Jennifer Lawrence AKA the mutant Mystique. I know of this earth-shattering twist because it is shown in the opening moments of the new trailer:

This sucks for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, Jennifer Lawrence characterization of Mystique is literally the best thing to happen to the cinematic X-Men Franchise since Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. I’m sorry Rebecca Romijn, but c’mon. Secondly, I don’t want to know about a bombshell fatality before I even see the movie. I couldn’t even pay attention to the rest of the trailer because I was processing the fact that I haven’t seen Jennifer Lawrence in a movie since Mother! Jennifer Lawrence characters are not fairing well on the silver screen right now.

Image Via Indiewire.com

In an interview with Dark Phoenix‘s director, Simon Kinberg explains the decision to include this in the trailer:

“The thought process behind that was to primarily show that this is a movie that is unlike other X-Men movies. It’s a movie where shocking things happen, where intense, dramatic things happen. People don’t just fall off buildings and dust themselves off and walk away. There’s a reality to this movie and a consequence to this movie. Even more than that, it was to show that Jean/Dark Phoenix is genuinely a threat to everyone, including the X-Men.”

Image Via Denofgeek.com

The first 2000 X-Men film could be looked at like a lightning rod for comic book adaptations. The fact that the comic book drew vivid and intentional parallels between mutants and other marginalized groups made it a wise and needed adaptation. Not only did the original film open cinema up to a variety of other comic book adaptions but it was the beginning of the X-Men film series as we know it today. Given Marvel’s pending deal to acquire the rights to all the X-Men characters, X-Men will probably be the last movie with the particular nonsensical (a bunch of plot holes) X-Men universe we’ve been watching on screen for almost two decades. So they better kill everyone, otherwise, they’ve already ruined the best twist of the movie.

Like all recently vacated roles, rumor has been circulating the role of Gotham’s Dark Knight. As Batfleck settles into the past, a coveted opportunity opens up for a wide variety of hungry actors. Everyone from Jon Hamm (Yes) and Armie Hammer to Jon Snow (No) and Edward Cullen (Maybe, who knows?) have been linked to the cape and scowl in previous weeks. However, all these rumors have been confirmed as malarkey.

Most of the time the list of rumors we find on the internet aren’t even as ridiculous as they should be; they’re often pretty possible. However, here are some Batman casting rumors (some spiced with only a hint of believability and others more so) I hope to hear in the time leading up to Matt Reeves’ The Batman…

Maisie Williams (anointed with the powers of Arya Stark)

Image Via Telegraph.co.uk

Batman could be described as a faceless man. More of a symbol than a man, Bruce Wayne runs around Gotham City giving people hope; the line from 2005’s Batman Begins goes “as flesh and blood I can be ignored, I can be destroyed but as a symbol, as a symbol, I can be incorruptible, I can be everlasting.” Well, I’ll be dipped in an existential crisis that makes me turn to a life of secluded vigilantism if this philosophy doesn’t align with that of The Faceless Men based in Bravos from Game Of Thrones.

This guild of assassins specializes in the relinquishment of identity and possess the ability to shapeshift and change faces. As we all know, everyone’s (living) favorite Stark is taken in by the guild and trained to be a faceless man. Not only do Arya’s combat abilities make her an obvious bat-person choice but her supernatural abilities would be a gamechanger. Also, Arya’s upbringing is eerily like that of Bruce Wayne’s…

Meryl Streep

Image Via Mirror.co.uk

In Westeros, The Faceless Men are well renowned shapeshifting assassins. In the real world, Meryl Streep is a well renowned shapeshifting assassin—in that she kills it. Arguably the greatest actor EVER, Streep’s transformative nature is unparalleled. Twenty-one Oscar nominations and counting. We owe it to ourselves, nigh the world to appoint such an icon as the face of the DC universe. #MerylStreep2020. The Mirror actually did an article about this back in 2016, referencing Meryl Streep’s reaction to that rumor at the time.

Timothée Chalamet (accent game on point)

Image Via Thisisinsider.com

Okay, so I’ve joked about this before, but for real; if one were to assign this kid the task of fighting crime in Gotham, he would demolish expectations. I’m sure Timothée would stock up on the whey protein, chicken and chocolate milk whilst doing pushups all day long. This would move him from Indie life into the realm of overwhelming celebrity. Not only does Timothée Chalamet have the acting chops (having already been nominated for an Academy Award) but he fits the bill regarding DC’s idea of a younger Batman in Reeves upcoming film. He could literally be the studio’s Batman for the next thirty years.

Donald Glover

Image Via Usatoday.com

When this man acts, we call him Donald Glover and when he raps, we call him Childish Gambino; we do this without questioning it or ever really talking about it. Basically, Donald Glover already inhabits two entirely separate personas so well that some people don’t even realize the two are one and the same. That’s Batman/Bruce Wayne AF. In addition to this display of dual life swagger, Donald Glover was an amazing Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story (or, at least, I thought so).

Pete Holmes

Image Via Hbo.com

Bruce Wayne needs to be handsome and charming. False. Batman needs to be strong and intimidating. False. Pete Holmes proved these falsehoods when he took it upon himself to don the cape himself in a series of web parodies. These skits recreated scenes from Christopher Nolan’s Batman films—the comedic twist was often that Batman is either incompetent or sex-obsessed. If the studio really wanted to bring something new and fresh to the table…

Christian Bale

Image Via NME.com

The hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector, a Dark Knight.

Always and Forever *Heart Emoji*

Image Via Giphy.com

The guy from HISHE

Image Via Youtube.com

How It Should Have Ended or HISHE is an animated web series that parodies films through changing their endings and pointing out their flaws. An ongoing theme of their superhero related videos is the interjection of Batman and Superman having coffee Seinfeld-style. They discuss everything from the Marvel vs. DC rivalry to Batman’s impervious nature. Superman will ask Batman “How?” to which Batman always replies, “Because I’m Batman!” Below is a clip where the brilliant people over at HISHE parody that scene from the 1996 Jon Favreau film Swingers.

Emma Stone

Image Via Cnbc.com

Just because I’m a BIG fan. Ten times fiercer than Batman and twenty times more charming than Bruce Wayne. I’ll probably include Ms. Stone on every list I write until the end of time. Henceforth, she shall be my reoccurring motif. But really, odd numbers in lists just get more clicks according to “experts.” She could definitely do it though; many internet fanatics have imagined this national treasure as Batgirl already:

Image Via Reddit.com

Oscar Isaac can pretty much do anything. He has already played a mysterious CEO in Ex Machina (although a very sinister one) and rocked the gunslinger mentality in the Star Wars Trilogy. He’s been attached to the role via the internet in the past for a while and fans seem to love it. My only request would be that of a melancholy musical number because Oscar Isaac is a god damn songbird…

Honorable Mention:

Who do you think should play batman in the upcoming movie?Retweet for Ron SwansonShut your mouth for Ben Affleck pic.twitter.com/B7wRS75Gag

The much discussed, sometimes controversial, era of Ben Affleck’s Batman is officially over. He ended up swaying a lot of non-believers, but apparently, it wasn’t enough. For those of you Fleckies (Ben Affleck fans) who were hoping to see Chuckie from Good Will Hunting don the cape one last time whilst reminding us of our potential as mathematicians will just have to bury that dream. Warner Bros. has officially set a June 25th, 2021 release date for Matt Reeve’s The Batman and Ben of the clan Affleck will not be reprising the role. This is apparently because the film wishes to focus on the story of a younger Batman, or maybe Ben Affleck just has a lot going on these days.

Image Via Thecut.com

It would seem Affleck’s exclusion from the film has not dampened his excitement for the Batman franchise:

But who will play the caped crusader/Bruce Wayne now? Personally, I really hope Warnes Bros. throws a curveball and casts Timothee Chalamet; the kid is all the rage right now and with the right amount of protein and pushups, I believe he could do it. Not really. The smart pick is to go with someone like Michael B. Jordan or Ryan Gosling… Let’s just bring back Christian Bale in all his hide and seek glory.

Image Via Comicvine.gamespot.com

A more important question is the question of story. What will this new dark knight flick be about? In the spirit of opinionated nerdgasms, the following list compiles some interesting comic book storylines that could and should be depicted on the silver screen.

Batman: The Long Halloween (1996 & 1997)

Image Via Nowverybad.com

This thirteen-issue series was written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Tim Sale. In line with the concept of a “younger Batman,” this story follows the caped crusader during his early days of crime fighting; a mysterious killer named Holiday murders people on holidays…our bat-dressed friend has to rush against the calendar each month as he tries to stop the killer. There’s also a crime war going on between the Maroni and Falcone families going and a cool introduction to a classic Batman foe.

Batman: Knightfall(1993 & 1994)

Image Via Mycomicshop.com

This storyline consists of a trilogy worth of content and takes place over the course of six months. Written and drawn by…a bunch of people; this is the story of Bane breaking Batman’s back—previously the inspiration for that scene in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises. After the back-breaking, Batman chooses a replacement, who turns out be a crazed and violent “New Batman” who tarnishes the dark knight’s reputation. A lot of the themes in this storyline are vaguely like Christopher Nolan’s Franchise but it’s still worth considering.

3. Batman: Hush(2002 & 2003)

Image Via Amazon.com

This twenty-two-issue series was written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Jim Lee, Scott Williams, and Alex Sinclair. The villain of this story is the not so friendly neighborhood stalker named Hush, who is hell-bent on sabotaging Batman. The storyline includes appearances by a hand full of classic Batman villains and explores the romantic relationship between Batman and Catwoman. A lot of casting and awesomeness would need to happen, so it probably won’t.

Batman: Death of the Family (2012 & 2013)

Image Via Vertigology.net

Twenty-three issues, an obtuse number of artists, and featuring pretty much every Batman supporting character ever: Batgirl, Robin, Catwoman, Nightwing, Red Hood, the Teen Titans, and Suicide Squad. In this storyline, the Joker goes HAM (forgive me for this awful acronym) and attempts to destroy everyone Batman has ever relied on. The title is a reference to Batman: A Death in the Family (1988) where the Joker kills Robin. Both are good ideas; the former makes sense given the characters that have already been introduced in the DC universe and the latter because a flashback movie would keep Ben Affleck as Batman, in a way. It was hinted in Batman V. Superman that the Joker killed Robin.

Batman: Zero Year (2013 &2014)

Image Via Amazon.com

This year-long crossover event was written Scott Snyder and James Tynion IV and drawn by Greg Capullo, Rafael Albuquerque and Danny Miki. Basically, a reboot, this storyline attempts to retell Batman’s origin in a unique and exciting way. I guess only fanatics would call it new—thematically it’s pretty much the same. There’s flood and flashbacks; similar yet fresh. Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One(1987) would also be an obvious choice regarding “young” and “origin story.”

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (1989)

Image Via Amazon.com

This graphic novel was written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Dave McKean. The story follows Batman as he attempts to calm a riot taking place in Arkham Asylum, which is, of course, the psychiatric hospital home to many of Gotham’s most sinister inhabitants. Batman encounters many of his classic villains who have changed from their well-known personas. This one is a bit of an origin story for the Asylum instead as we find out about the establishment of the hospital and the mysteries surrounding it.

Batman: Year Two (1987) /Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993 film)

Image Via Youtube.com

Written by Mike W. Barr and drawn by Alan Davis, Alfredo Alcala, Mark Farmer, Paul Neary, and Todd McFarlane this story arc deals with Gotham’s original vigilante The Reaper. Batman develops a relationship with the daughter of The Reaper and a “don’t date my daughter” pissing match ensues. Really though, it’s better than that. The 1993 animated film was inspired by this storyline; it follows a similar vigilante who murders Gotham’s crime bosses but is named Phantasm instead of The Reaper.

Honorable Mention: JLA: Tower of Babel (2000) as a Justice League movie.

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